Pinterest is a very visual medium. If you want to be on Pinterest, you must up your graphics game. I am a longtime experience graphic designer (20+ years), and even I was challenged in my first few months on Pinterest. What works on other social media platforms does not work on Pinterest. And not only is it important to use the right type and orientation of graphics, but Pinterest graphic sizes matter, too.

Over the past five years of using Pinterest, I’ve tried a lot of different graphic sizes. The ones that go viral are the long, vertical pins. And not just a little long, but a lot long. But how long is too long? It took a while to figure it out, but I now have a magic ratio that works to make my pins go viral!

My Pinterest Graphic Sizes Cheat Sheet

Here’s the handy graphic template I use myself — I thought you might find it useful, too!

Use the magic ratio to great pinnable graphics for Pinterest! | JenuineWebWorks.com
Use the magic ratio to great pinnable graphics for Pinterest! | JenuineWebWorks.com

Essentially, you want your Pinterest graphics to be oriented vertically rather than horizontally. In other words, your Pinterest graphics should be taller than longer. This allows them to display more prominently on the Pinterest boards.

But you don’t want your graphic to be too long, or your full Pinterest graphic won’t display in your follower’s feeds.

As it turns out, the magic ratio to allow your pin to display in its full glory in all Pinterest places is 2.55 to 1. So for maximum exposure, make your graphic 735 pixels wide by 1874 pixels long. This allows for your expanded pin to be shown in maximum resolution, which will be more likely to be repinned by more people.

Did you know? Some Pinterest users only pin beautiful, vertical, high resolution images. You can make sure your pins meet their high standards every time!

A Viral Pin that Follows the Pinterest Graphic Sizes Magic Ratio

One of my most popular pins — Building a Built-In Bench — falls within that magic ratio. It’s long enough to give great exposure, and it really does, too! My bench pin has been repinned over 20,000 times and continues to draw traffic over a year later.

pinterest graphic sizes magic ratio
One of my most viral pins — note that it falls within the magic ratio!

Other Pinterest Graphic Sizes

Some other pinterest graphic sizes you may find useful are:

  • Pins that appear in feeds: 238 pixels wide
  • Profile photo: 200 x 200 pixels (new size for 2016)
  • Pinterest board size: 238 x 238
  • Board cover image size: 238 x 111 (new size for 2016)

  • Gerri

    I am always hunting for the graphic sizes, and wondering which one is best, so this is really helpful. Thank you!